RU2521218C1 - Modular bottom station - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: station has syntactic buoyancy (1), inside of which there are self-contained modules (2, 3) with sensors (4). The modules (2, 3) are enclosed in pressure-resistant housings. The pressure-resistant housings are made with transparent inserts (5) which withstand external pressure. Inside each insert (5), there is an optical signal emitter and receiver (6). The arrangement of the self-contained modules can provide optical communication of the emitters and receivers of all self-contained modules.

EFFECT: high operational reliability and easy operation.

1 dwg

Description

The present invention relates to the field of ocean research and can be used for complex measurement of hydrophysical parameters in oceanology, hydrophysics and hydrography.

A well-known bottom station for measuring hydrophysical parameters, containing a rigid support housing that combines a microprocessor with connected blocks of analog-to-digital signal processing, connected through pressure-resistant connectors with hydrophysical sensors [1]. The MINIpack system has the ability to use 16 channels for measuring signals from external sensors in both submerged and towed mode, as well as the ability to replace meters by disassembling the housing and installing sensors in a unifying pressure-resistant housing. The presence of a hull not only makes reconfiguration difficult for recombination and requires stationary conditions for subsequent metrological verification of the entire system, but also limits the possibility of variability of the measured parameters to a specific volume, which is very important during an expedition or a ship’s voyage. In most cases, the ability to quickly vary a set of measured parameters during an expensive voyage of a scientific vessel or expedition is required. A known station cannot provide high quality due to these drawbacks.

A known system for measuring hydrophysical parameters, containing a hard syntactic float, in which autonomous modules are enclosed, are enclosed in pressure-resistant housings, each of which is designed to measure one of the parameters recorded by the station [2].

The known system allows you to quickly change the number of monitored parameters, but still requires mechanical manipulation associated with the use of electrical cable glands and their installation, resulting in a decrease in the reliability of the entire system and the complexity of its operation.

The aim of the present invention is to increase the reliability of marine measuring stations, simplifying their operation and unification of marine measuring equipment.

This goal is achieved by the fact that in a known measuring system containing a rigid syntactic float, in which autonomous modules are enclosed, enclosed in pressure-resistant housings, each of which is designed to measure one of the parameters recorded by the station, each pressure-resistant housing has an optically transparent insert that can withstand external the pressure at which the emitter and receiver of the optical signal are located, while the placement of autonomous modules should provide optical communication of the emitters and receivers of all modules.

In the proposed station, the electrical connection is replaced by optical, which allows you to flexibly and widely change the layout of the station, its purpose and working conditions. The master module of the device removes information from the sensor modules via a wireless light channel and stores it in non-volatile memory such as a FLASH card. At the same time, the hermetic connectors and submarine cables are not required for communication between the modules. The replacement of measuring modules in the construct is simplified, which increases the consumer attractiveness of the complex, its variability. It also simplifies the verification of autonomous sensor modules capable of working independently.

Practical example

In the drawing - figure 1 - shows the device modular bottom station. It contains buoyancy from syntactics - 1, in which the leading module - 2 and measuring modules - 3 with sensors - 4 are located, containing the entire set of equipment for measuring one parameter (pressure, salinity, flow rate, etc.). Typically, pressure resistant housings are made of metal. At the bottom of modules 2, 3 there are inserts - 5 made of a material transparent to light radiation (for example, from acrylic glass), inside of which are located transceiver modems with emitters and photodetectors - 6. The material of the inserts must withstand pressure at the working depth. The station contains the ballast disconnector - 7, traditional for underwater stations, and the ballast -8 itself, located at the bottom - 9. The work of the bottom station does not differ from the known measuring systems of modern architecture.

Each measuring station module operates autonomously, independently of the other modules, but according to a program written for the entire system and stored in the program memory of the master module. Such a system is formed for the task immediately before measurements from ready-to-use individual modules. The proposed station is very convenient to operate. After rising to the surface, all the information accumulated in the host unit can be read to a personal computer via a high-speed WiFi channel.

Information sources

1. Chelsea Technologies Group - Sensors - MINIpack CTD-F, Sensor Suite Compact, Smart Media based multi-parameter monitoring system for oceanography and limnology, Chelsea Technologies Group 55 Central Avenue, Molesey, Surrey, KT8 2QZ, UK.

http://www.chelsea.co.uk/lnstruments%20MINIPACK.htm.

2. Patent of Russia No. 2350934.

Claims (1)

A modular bottom station containing a rigid syntactic float, in which autonomous modules are enclosed, enclosed in pressure-resistant housings, each of which is designed to measure one of the parameters recorded by the station, characterized in that each pressure-resistant housing has an optically transparent insert that can withstand external pressure in which are the emitter and receiver of the optical signal, while the placement of autonomous modules should provide optical communication between the emitters and receivers of all autonomous s modules.